Shoe and method of making same



Feb. l1, 1941.l F- MAIELLANO I 2,231,290 l SHOE AND METHOD 0F MAKINGSAME Original Filed Aug. 14, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 nnentor B11, y@ al m.

' ttornegs Feb. 11, 1941. MELLANO 2,231,290

SHOE AND METHODOF MAKING SAME Original Filed Aug. 14, 1935 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Snventor @QM www. B., v?, 2m

p Gttorneg lil ,Patented Feb. 1]., 1941 STATES PATENT @FIC snon'ANoMETHOD or MAKING sans Ware Original application August 14, 1935, SerialNo. 36,057. Divided and this application August 2, 1938, Serial No.222,586

5 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of footwear and moreparticularly to the manufacture of insole-s and outsoles usable in suchfootwear, and is a division of my co--pending application Serial No.36,057, filed August 14, 1935, issued March 7, i939 as United States.Patent No. 2,149,701.

A general object of the invention is to provide a novel method of makinginsoles and outsoles usable in an improved form of shoe, which affordsmarked economies as to cost of materials and operations as compared withpractices heretofore followed in making shoes of commensurate generalquality and construction.

in the United States patent to Sbicca No. 1,982,725 there is disclosed amethod of shoe construction in which complementary insoles and outsolesare split from a single blank of sole stock having the combinedthickness of the required insole and outsole. The outsole is formed witha raised or landed central forepart portion, and the insole has anopening in its central forepart which exactly fits the landed portion ofthe outsole by virtue of its having been split or cut therefrom. Thismethod calls for the use of thicker sole leather than would be used forthe outsole per se, of an ordinary shoe. These thicker grain leathersare more expensive than those which are a few irons thinner. Whilematerial savings are effected through cutting Sbicca-type insoles fromoutsole stock because it eliminates the cost of extra insoles Whichotherwise wouid have to be provided, it has been found by the presentinventor that even further net savings can be effected by makingpossible the use of outsole leather of ordinary thickness in aSbicca-type shoe.

It therefore is a particular object of this invention to provide amethod of making complementary insoles and outsoles in accordance withthe principles of the mentioned Sbicca invention, and of using them inthe manufacture of shoes having substantially the advantages as toflexibility, neat and accurate construction, etc., which characterizeSbicca-type shoes, while effecting economies in the net cost ofmanufacture, by providing sole units formed of outsole leather ofthinner stock, which units are built up to the requirements for Sbiccatype operations by adding thereto a ply of inexpensive insole material,such as', e. g. flexible split leather.

Further, there are available on the market various kinds of manufacturedmaterials such asV plant fiber compositions and the like, which areusable as insole material and are .even less (Cl. 12-1i2) lexpensivethan ordinary flexible split or else possess qualificationsI as totexture and strength whichmake their use very desirable.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of makingshoes having complementary 5 intertting insoles and outsoles of the typeshown in the mentioned Sbicca patent, wherein such manufacturedcomposition materials may advantageously be employed in constructing theinsole.

Another object o-i the invention is to provide complementary interttinginsoles and outsoles having advantages such as those described above asto economy and/or accuracy of t, and to provide a shoe of improved andeconomical con- 15 struction involvinguse of such insoles and outsoles.

Yet another object of the invention is to Drovide a shoe constructionhaving an outsole landed at its central forepart portion, and an insoleincluding stock removed from the surface of said outsole adjacent itslanded portion, which is adapted to be strongly and comlpactly lastedand assembled without the need of loose filler inaterial or the klikebetween the insole and outsole.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a shoe and methodof making the same, which has a landed outsole and a plied insole, iscompactly and strongly lasted, has the characteristic appearance of aSbicca type shoe, and which may be lasted on a flat bottomed last, ifdesired.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in partappear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the sevy eral steps and the relationof one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, and thearticle possessing the features, properties, and the relation ofelements, which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure,and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the inventionreference should be had to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a top plan view of a composite sole unit embodying principlesof the present invention, parts thereof being broken away better to showthe construction;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the unit shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the formation of an insole andoutsole from a sole blank rounded from the unit of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4. is a longitudinal sectional View taken along line 4 4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to Fig. 4 but showing aninsole completely separated from an outsole;

Fig. 6 is a transverse vertical sectional View taken through theforepart of a shoe constructed in accordance with the principles of thisinvention;

Fig. '7 is a plan view of a rounded and split sole blank used in anotherform of the invention;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken along line 8 8 ofFig. '7;

Fig. 9 is a iplan View showing a step in the construction of a pliedinsole in accordance with this form of the invention;

Fig. 10 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken through acompleted insole in the lvicinity of the line lil-Iii of Fig` 9;

Fig. 11 is a transverse vertical sectional view through the forepart ofanother form of shoe constructed in accordance with .the principles ofthis invention y Fig. 12 is a transverse vertical sectional view throughyet another form of shoe constructed in accordance with the principlesof this invention; and

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a unitary laminated soleblank being separated into an insole and outsole in a splitting machine.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, there is shown in Figs. 1and 2 a blank, comprising a ply of outsole leather I Il and a ply ofinsole material I I bonded to its flesh surface by a layer of `cement orother suitable adhesive I2. The combined thickness of the -.plies Il]and II is equivalent to the combined thicknesses of an ultimately formedinsole and outsole, the ply II being slightly thinner than the desiredinsole thickness. The ply III therefore is only slightly thicker, or maybe of the same thickness as that of an outsole in an ordinary McKay orsimilarly lasted shoe. For example, the combined :thickness of theentire blank comprising plies I0 and I I may be on the order of 11 or 12irons for a Womans shoe, and the outsole ply I0 may make up from 7 to 9irons .of this entire thickness. Such s-tock is less expensive thanoutsole leather having the entire 11 or 12 iron thickness would be. Theinsole ply I'I may be made of any suitable inexpensive material, such asiiexible split leather or any of .the commercially availablemanufactured ,composition insole material having characteristicsittingthem for use in the presently described construction, such for exampleas those -made from fibrous pulps.

A number of these blanks are formed, and the plies I Il and II may, ifdesired, be superposed While in sheet form and later divided intoseparate blanks such as .those shown in Fig. 1. A required number ofright and left sole units of a given size are then rounded out fromthese blanks, a right unit for example being shown in Fig. 3. Each unit,comprising the bonded plies IIJ and I I, is separated along a planeextending only slightly, say one or .two irons, below the joiningsurfaces of theplies I6 and I I as defined by .the cement bond I2.Preferably, in order to provide the full advantages of this invention,this separation of the stock is effected in accordance with the teachingof the above mentioned Sbicca patent by splitting the unit from the heelto the ball line and around the margin-al portions of the forepart alongthe above described plane which is located just below the cement bondI2, while leaving a raised or landed area I3 at the central forepartportion of the outsole and a cut away opening I4 at the central forepartportion of the insole which exactly complements the shoulders definingthe landed area I3. This method of splitting the sole unit maypreferably be eiTec-ted by means of special sole splitting apparatus ofthe kind dis.- closed in U. S. Patent No. 2,088,051 of William C. Card,Jr. The apparatus disclosed in such Card patent includes a pair ofpressure rolls I8 and I9 and a straight-edged splitting knife 20, asshown in Fig. 13. The roll I 9 has a projecting die 2i which is shapedto contact and flex the central forepart por-tion of a rounded soleblank into a complementary matrix or recess 22 on the opposite pressureroll. As a composite sole blank passes between these rollers, itscentral forepart area is temporarily fiexed out of the plane of theremainder of the sole stock by the die and matrix, and as therolls'notate, they urge this portion of the sole blank past thestraight-edged knife while the sole blank is in its flexed condition.This enables the knife to pass over the central forepart portion of thesole blank while splitting the remainder of the blank in the ordinarymanner, preferably at a plane within the ply I0 and closely adjacent themating faces of the two plies IU and I i. Passage of the sole blankbetween such rollers and past the knife splits it into an insole andoutsole respectively having a perforated central forepart por-tion and acomplemental raised land. If desired, this separating operation may beeffected by utilizing the three cut process described in the Sbiccapatent. rIhe knife d-esignated I5 which is shown in Figs. 3 and'4, isonly intended diagrammatically to indicate the nature of thecontemplated separation of Ithe sole unit into separate insole andoutsole parts.

The insole thus formed comprises the original ply I-I of insole materialIand a thin split I 0 comprising stock removed from the flesh side ofthe outsole leather I0. The outsole throughout most of its .extent isformed of a single ply of grain sole leather having a lan-ded area I3 atits central forepart portion, which area comprises the original stock I0plus a cut off portion of the ply I\I which is cemented thereto.

The insole next is preferably trimmed around its marginal edges asindicated at I6 so that it is of less extent than the correspondingoutsole,

as is customary and desirable for the assembly of these par-ts in ashoe. The split surfaces comprising the under side I0 of the insole andthe upper side of the outsole, after separation of these pants, aregenerally smooth and well finished, and free from marks such as areusually imposed by the feed wheel or .pressing equipment of roundingmachines, trimming machines, and the like. For this reason, inassembling an insole and outsole in a shoe, it is preferred to take theinsole which has been split from a night sole unit and reverse it,assembling it with an outsole which has been split from a left soleunit.

That is, a right insole, after splitting, is turned over so that itsupper ply I I faces or opposes the outsole in .the assembled shoe (Fig.6) and its smoothly shaved upper ply I0 is faced uppern most in thenished shoe. This procedure is desirable when .the ply II is formed offlexible split leather in that it turns down the rough flesh surface ofsuch leather out of sight and sub stitutes therefor a smooth splitsurface compnising grain stock from the outsole ID. It also isadesirable procedure when manufactured compositions of -plant fiber orthe like are used for the ply II, since by following it the latter isconcealed, except at the landed area in the forepart of the shoe, and asmooth split surface` comprising grain stock from the outsole I isexposed at the heel, shank and marginal forepart portions of ltheinterior of the shoe. Even when so reversed, these soles are adapted toretain their characteristic close t, especially if they have beenseparated on a splitting machine of the kind shown in the mentioned Cardapplication.

In forming the shoe, the insole comprising layers II and II is locatedon a last with the layer It facing the last bottom. A11 upper I'I ispulled over and lasted to the insole in any suitable manner., preferablyby means of cement. The overturned lasting allowance of the upper istrimmed, roughed, etc., in accordance with the usual procedure so `asnot to encroach on the opening I4 in the insole, and the outsole I0 isthereafter attached thereto with its landed area I3 fitted within theopening in the insole so that its upper surface extends flush and evenwith the upper surface of the insole on the finished shoe, and closelynts therewith entirely around its boundary. The sole is preferablycement aixed to the upper, although other affixing means may be employedif desired.

The adhesives or cementsl used may be of any suitable kind. Preferablythe cement bond I2 between the sole unit plies I0 and Il is a permanentrubber cement, as this lends itself well to the splitting operations atthe orepart and also is not subject to dissolution when solvents forpyroxylin cement are applied to adjacent shoe parts during lastingand/or sole aflixing operations. Pyr-oxylin cement is preferably used inlasting the upper and in afxing the outsole to the lasted upper.However, as explained, other forms of adhesive or other kinds ofaiiixing means may be used for these operations.

A shoe constructed in this manner possesses substantially all of theadvantages that characterize single sole shoes having a perforate insoleand mating landed outsole, while providing substantial net economiesover processes heretofore used to make such a shoe.

In Figs. '7 to 11 there is shown another form of construction involvingthe provision of a landed outsole, made from stock of approximatelyconventional thickness, and a mating plied insole.

I-Iere there is provided a round outsole III] which has a very thininsole layer I It split therefrom, preferably by means o-f a splittingmachine such as that shown in the above mentioned Card patent, so as toleave a slightly raised landed portion II3 in the central forepart areaof the outsole. The stock removed at IID may be quite thin, say on theorder of two irons or less in thickness.

The layer Il', which has a looped centrally periorate iorepart portion,is laid over a blank comprising a ply of insole material III, which maybe of flexible split or any suitable manufactured composition and whichmay be some what thinner than an ordinary insole. These parts are placedtogether between the pattern and clamp of a rounding machine and arerounded to insole size along the marginal boundary I l5, indicated indotted lines. The layer IIIl and the ply III are then attached to eachother over their adjacent surfaces by a bond II.2 of suitable cement,such as rubber cement or pyroxylin. This forms a composite insoleassembly having a concave forepart portion indicated at IM whichcomplements alanded-portion III3 of the outsole.

This composite insole assembly is located on the bottom of a last withits concave side facing outwardly. In Fig. 1l a round bottom last isshown, as this facilitates the assembling of the shoe parts and enablesthe upper lasting allowance to be accommodated without requiringroughing or trimming operations to remove material from the outsolemargin. If such operations are employed, however, a flat bottom last maybe used with satisfactory results. An upper I I'I is then pulled overthe last and its lasting allowance is lasted to the portion IIIl of theinsole assembly. It is trimmed and roughed so as to present a featherededge adjacent the Ymargin of depression IIll, the trimming being such asto assure termination of the lasting allowance at or outwardly beyondthe edge of such depression. The central forepart portion of the ball ofthe lasted upper accordingly presents a concave depression, and theoutsole I I is located on the bottom of such lasted upper with its landIIS mated in and substantially entirely occupying such depression. Theconcavity of the round bottom last enables the outsole to be pressed andfitted tightly against the upper until the top boundary of this landedportion substantially coincides with the inner edge of the opening ofinsole layer I Il! at the point designated I I4 in Fig. 11, despitepresence of the extra upper material comprising the lasting allowancebetween the insole and outsole. This construction affords a shoe havingcompactly interitted parts which does not necessitate the provision of aloose cork filler or the like at the ball portion, since the depress-ionthere occurring is lled by the landed area in the outsole. Such shoe hasmuch of the flexibility of the first described form and is strong andneat in appearance.

The upper lasting and sole aflixing operations are preferably carriedout with a suitable adhesive such as pyroxylin cement or the like.

In Fig. 12 there is shown another form of shoe having many of thecharacteristics of thatshownin Fig. 11, but which may be lasted on aflat bottom last without roughing or otherwise removing material fromthe outsole to accommodatethe lasting allowance. Since many factoriesare nowequipped with these lasts and are consequently unwilling to incurthe expense of replacing them with the round bottom lasts which areperhaps better suited to the Sbicca-type of operations, it is desirableto provide a construction with which such present equipment may beutilized. Also, shoes having a landed outsole and a mating perforateinsole are now very popular in the trade` A n arrangement such as thatshown in Fig. l2 provides a shoe having the appearance of such a landedand apertured sole construction when the interior of the shoe is viewed,as well as certain other characteristics of such a construction. Thisarrangement comprises a composite insole comprising plies I I I and I I9constructed in the same manner as the insole shown in Figs. 10 and ll.This insole is located on the bottom of a last with its ply lIIl facingthe last bottom, or in a reversed position from that shown in Fig. l1.The interior of the ultimately complete shoe therefore has theappearance of the interior of a Sbicca-type shoe, with a marginal insoleportion showing around the forepart which is flush with the portion ofply III that shows through the aperture in ply IIEl. If desired thelasting, from this point onward, may be completed on a round bottomlast, as in Fig. l1, by pulling over and lasting the upper to theinsole, and locating and af- CII fixing a landed outsole, which isformed when making the ply llt', to theshoe bottom with its landedportion registering with the thin single ply portion at the forepart ofthe composite insole.

When a flat bottom last is to be used, however, the upper lastingallowance is preferably lasted to the ply Hl of the insole, and a fillerpiece I8, of composition, leather stock, or the like is placed in thecentral forepart area o-f the shoe bottom. This piece has a thicknessapproximately the same as that of the upper materials located betweenthe insole. and outsole, so that the outsole, which has only a smallland, may be pressed against the shoe bottom with its land seatedagainst and supported by the ller piece, as shown in Fig. l2. The llerpiece may also be attached to the insole ply Hl, in this same relativeposition, prior to the lasting operations, in which case the upper,lasting allowance will overlie its edge portions.

In this last mentioned embodiment as in the first, it may be desirableto take an insole layer H9 after splitting and turn it over and cementits rougher side to the ply of insole material III so that the smoothlyshaved face of the layer llil is that seen in the finished shoe. Thisprocedure is desirable when the ply of insole material Hl is formed offlexible split leather in that it hides a largel p-art of the roughflesh surface of such leather out of sight and substitutes therefor asmooth split surface comprising grain stock from the outsole H0. It isalso a desirable procedure when manufactured compositions of plant fiberor the like are used for the ply IH, since by following it, the latteris concealed except at the landed area in the forepart of the shoe, anda smooth split surface comprising grain stock from the outsole H0 isexposed at the heel, shank and marginal forepart portions of theinterior of the shoe. Even when so reversed these insole layers H6 areadapted to retain their characteristic close fitting propertiesespecially if they have been prepared on a splitting machine of the kindshown in the mentioned Card patent. It is understood, of course, that ifthe reversed process of the insole layer H0 is carried out, both rightand left outsole blanks have to be used and landed left outsoles ll usedwith insole layers split from right sole blanks and vice versa.

While preferred illustrative embodiments of the invention have beendescribed and illustrated in detail, it is to be understood that theseare illustrative and that various changes may be made without departingfrom the purview of the invention. Thus, the order of steps particularlydescribed need not be strictly adhered to so long as the shoemakingmethods taught are generally followed. The plies of the insole, forexample may be cemented together before the outsole units such as liland H0 are split, or after, as desired. Also, a laminated unit such asthat shown in Fig. 2 may be made up of more than two plies, if desired,in which case the severing split may be made at any chosen plane. Evenwith a two ply unit, as in Fig. 2, the insole separating split may bemade above instead of below the cemented bond I2, in which case theoutsole would be laminated so as to show a weltlike construction at itsmargin, when assembled in a completed shoe.

It will be seen that there has been provided a method and a shoeconstruction which are well adapted to fulfil their intended functions.

Since certain changes in carrying out the above process, and certainmodifications in the article which embody the invention may be madewithout departing from its scope, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawingsshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific features of the invention hereindescribed, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as amatter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is:

1, In a method of making shoes, the steps comprising providing soleblanks, rounding sole units from said blanks suitable for right and leftfeet, splitting each of said units along a plane intermediate its outersurfaces and in the forepart portion of each of said units alsosplitting each thereof along oblique planes intersecting the saidrst-named plane to form an outsole and an insole having an aperture inits forepart portion, providing a piece of tension-resistant sheetmaterial having an area exceeding that within the innermost edges ofsaid aperture and being larger than the aperture defined by saidlnnermost edges, reversing an insole from a sole unit rounded for onefoot and assembling in a shoe said reversed insole, said piece and anoutsole from a sole unit rounded for the other foot in such relationthat the split face of said reversed insole faces the interior of saidshoe and said piece closes said aperture and at the edge thereof extendsbetween said insole and said outsole.

2. In a method of making shoes, the steps comprising providing soleblanks suitable for right and left feet, splitting said blanks to formfrom each of them an outsole having a raised portion on its uppersurface at its central forepart area and an insole having at its centralforepart area a cut-away portion complementary to said raised portion,providing a piece of compression and tension-resisting sheet materialhaving an area exceeding that of said cut-away portion, reversing aninsole formed from .a blank for one foot and assembling in a shoe saidreversed insole, said piece, and an outsole formed from a blank for theother foo-t, in such relation that the split face of said reversedinsole faces the interior of said shoe and said piece covers saidcut-away portion and extends between said outsole and said insoleoutwardly of said cut-away portion of said insole.

3. A shoe comprising an outsole and having a landed forepart portion, aninsole having a cutaway portion in its forepart area and a flesh surfaceon one side and a split surface on its other side, said insole beingattached in said shoe so that its flesh surface faces downwardly towardthe outsole and its split surface faces upwardly in said shoe, a pieceof sheet material spanning said cut-away portion of said insole and atits edge extending between said insole and outsole, and an upper havingits lasting allowance between said insole and outsole.

4. A method of making shoes which comprises providing an insole havingin its forepart area a cutaway portion surrounded by an inwardlytapering marginal portion, mounting said insole on a last with a pieceof tension and compression-resisting insole sheet material and a secondApiece of sheet material, both pieces being in alinement with andspanning said cut-away portion on the side of said insole remote fromsaid last, one of said pieces at least having substantially thethickness of an upper and one of said pieces having tapering edges,securing an upper by its lasting all-owance in lasted relation to saidmarginal portion o1 said insole, and attaching to the shoe bottom anoutsole having on its forepart portion a land in alinement with saidcut-awai7 portion of said insole and with one of said pieces of materiallying between said lasting allowance and said outsole, and the second ofsaid pieces lying between said lasting allowance and said insole andsaid two pieces supporting said land to maintain said outsolesubstantially at.

5. A method -o'f making shoes which comprises providing an insole havingin its forepart area a cut-away portion surrounded by an inwardlytapering marginal portion and bounded by the inner limits thereof,mounting said insole on a last with a piece of tension andcompressionresisting insole sheet material and a second piece of sheetmaterial, both pieces being of greater area than and in alinement withsaid cut-away portion and spanning said cut-away portion on the side ofsaid insole remote from said last, said pieces together having athickness not substantially less than the thickness of an upper and oneof said pieces having tapering edges, securing an upper by its lastingallowance in lasted relation to said marginal portion of said insole,and attaching to the shoe bottom an outsole having on its forepartportion a land in alinement with said cut-away portion of said insole,one of said pieces of material lying in alinement with the space betweenthe edges of said lasting allowance and being positioned between saidoutsole and the second of said pieces and having its edges extendinglaterally outwardly of said boundary of said cut-away portion, and thesecond of said pieces having its edges lying between said lastingallowance and said insole and said two pieces supporting said land tomaintain said outsole sub- 20 stantially flat.

FRANK M AIELL'ANO.

